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I Had My DNA Picture Taken, With Varying Results Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times Kira Peikoff, 28, had her DNA tested by three direct-to-consumer companies, and the results didn't agree. By KIRA PEIKOFFPublished: December 30, 2013 337 Comments [image: Science Twitter Logo.]I like to plan ahead; that much I knew about myself before I plunged into exploring my genetic code. I’m a healthy 28-year-old woman, but some nasty diseases run in my family: coronary heart disease,rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s and breast cancer. Connect With Us on Social Media @nytimesscienceon Twitter. -...mais »

On this last day of the year, what better way to reflect on its fruits than by looking back on what moved the greatest number of hearts and minds? Gathered below are the thirteen most read and shared articles published on *Brain Pickings* in 2013, spanning everything from psychology to art to the meaning of life. (Catch up on last year’s finest reads here.) Please enjoy, and thank you for joining me on yet another year’s intellectual and creative voyage. Here's to an extraordinary, unimaginably inspired 2014!

[image: Johns Hopkins Health Alerts]Contact Us www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com | Johns Hopkins Health Bookstore | Email this to a friend | Know the Symptoms of Serotonin Syndrome *People being treated for depression later in life often have additional conditions -- such as diabetes or hypertension -- that require medications. When some of these medications are taken with antidepressants, serious problems may arise.* Even some antidepressant combinations can be dangerous. For example, combining antidepressants that increase blood levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin -- which inclu...mais »

1 of 367 365 Tuesday, December 3, 2013 | By Phil Bicker | 18 Comments 2013: The Year in 365 Pictures JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 Felipe Dana—AP Jan. 1, 2013. Young residents watch fireworks exploding over Copacabana beach during new year celebrations at the Pavao Pavaozinho slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Looking back, 2013 has proven to be a turbulent, unsettling year. Americans were rocked by the terror attack at the Boston Marathon that left three dead and more than 250 wounded. In ...mais »

*JAMA Psychiatry* Viewpoint [image: gender image] *The Evolution of Gender* Sex and gender are often used interchangeably in scientific writing, but they are not the same. This Viewpoint calls for studies of gender and health outcomes that would illuminate mechanisms underlying between-sex differences in morbidity, mortality, and health behaviors. *Image Credit: Thinkstock*

Clinical Implications of Basic Neuroscience Research [image: brain function image] *Modeling Brain Function: Current Developments and Future Prospects* This perspective reviews a recently developed functional brain model that comprises 2.5 million spiking neurons that can recreate some of the brain’s more interesting abilities, such as seeing, acting, reasoning, and remembering.

Flashes of brilliance in the brain – the best Neuroscience images of 2013 Posted on December 23, 2013 by thebrainbank [image: The top shows the most interconnected male regions, the bottom shows the most interconnected female regions. From: Ingalhalikar et al. PNAS (online publication before print).] Posted on December 23, 2013 by thebrainbank Pretty pictures and popular neuroscience go hand-in-hand. People love to see the contours of their brain on an MRI and journalists are drawn to a brain flashing away with activity. There have been some fantastic images from neuroscience in 2013. ...mais »

MIND DECEMBER 23, 2013, 3:28 PM 151 Comments A New Focus on DepressionBy RICHARD A. FRIEDMAN, M.D. Viktor Koen When will we ever get depression under control? Of all the major illnesses, mental or physical, depression has been one of the toughest to subdue. Despite the ubiquity of antidepressant drugs — there are now 26 to choose from — only a third of patients with major depression will experience a full remission after the first round of treatment, and successive treatments with different drugs will give some relief to just 20 to 25 percent more. About 30 percent of people with dep...mais »

Why Privacy Is Our 2013 Word of the Year December 17, 2013 by: Dictionary.com blog in: Current Events 67 Comments From PRISM and the Edward Snowden scandal to the arrival of Google Glass, 2013 was the year that the desire to be seen and heard was turned on its head. Consider the following: In January, the TSA scrapped airport body scanners that produce near-naked images of travelers; In June, Edward Snowden revealed the widespread global-spying program, Project PRISM; In October, Google announced new privacy policy plans that allow the company to incorporate user data into advertiseme...mais »

*Breakthrough medical studies and expert information reveal how you may:* - Turn back the clock on your aging mind. - Recall names, dates, facts and figures - with greater ease. - Retain what you read in newspapers, magazines and books. - Help keep Alzheimer's disease at bay. *To learn how you can receive a risk-free copy of this vital research report on enhancing mental capacity ... preserving memory ... and combating Alzheimer's disease, read on:* Have you ever experienced one of these discomforting "senior moments"? - You pick up the phone to call a friend you've know...mais »

Readers’ Comments

So I decided to read the tea leaves of my DNA. I reasoned that it was worth learning painful information if it might help me avert future illness.

Like others, I turned to genetic testing, but I wondered if I could trust the nascent field to give me reliable results. In recent years, a handful of studies have found substantial variations in the risks for common diseases predicted by direct-to-consumer companies.

I set out to test the tests: Could three of them agree on me?

The answers were eye-opening — and I received them just as one of the companies, 23andMe, received a stern warning from the Food and Drug Administration over concerns about the accuracy of its product. At a time when the future of such companies hangs in the balance, their ability to deliver standardized results remains dubious, with far-reaching implications for consumers./.../

On this last day of the year, what better way to reflect on its fruits than by looking back on what moved the greatest number of hearts and minds? Gathered below are the thirteen most read and shared articles published on Brain Pickings in 2013, spanning everything from psychology to art to the meaning of life. (Catch up on last year’s finest reads here.)

Please enjoy, and thank you for joining me on yet another year’s intellectual and creative voyage. Here's to an extraordinary, unimaginably inspired 2014!

People being treated for depression later in life often have additional conditions -- such as diabetes or hypertension -- that require medications. When some of these medications are taken with antidepressants, serious problems may arise.

Even some antidepressant combinations can be dangerous. For example, combining antidepressants that increase blood levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin -- which include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and selective serotonin/ norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SSNRIs) -- has the potential to produce serotonin syndrome.

The watch list. Serotonin syndrome is of greatest concern for patients taking monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors. These patients should absolutely avoid taking other antidepressants because of the risk of potentially fatal interactions. Another dangerous combination to avoid is taking a tricyclic antidepressant with other tricyclics. Antidepressant combinations are sometimes necessary to treat severe depression -- but they require careful monitoring by the physician and patient.

Combining serotonin-boosting antidepressants with other medications that elevate serotonin levels can also lead to serotonin syndrome. These medications include:

the Parkinson's drug selegiline (Eldepryl)

antibiotics such as erythromycin (Erythrocin) and linezolid (Zyvox)

anti-psychotic medications such as risperidone (Risperidol) and olanzapine (Zyprexa)

Jan. 1, 2013. Young residents watch fireworks exploding over Copacabana beach during new year celebrations at the Pavao Pavaozinho slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Looking back, 2013 has proven to be a turbulent, unsettling year. Americans were rocked by the terror attack at the Boston Marathon that left three dead and more than 250 wounded. In Bangladesh, a garment factory collapsed, taking with it the lives of more than 1000 workers in one of the worst industrial disasters in history. In the Middle East, the promise of the Arab Spring seemed extinguished by the military overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically elected President and the killing of hundreds of Egyptians in the streets of Cairo.

This year also marked a difficult start to Barack Obama’s second term in office, facing numerous challenges domestically and abroad. The murder trial of George Zimmerman, meanwhile – which ended in acquittal — and the continued debates on gay marriage reminded us that, half a century after the March on Washington and JFK’s assassination, the issues of gun violence and civil rights are still very much with us.

It was a year of departures and arrivals: In England, the country bid farewell to its “Iron Lady,” Margaret Thatcher, and a “royal baby” George arrived. And at the Vatican, the troubled reign of Pope Benedict came to a close with his surprise resignation, Jorge Mario Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) was elected as the first Pontiff to reign from the Americas.

These were just some of the countless topics that touched the world’s collective conscious in 2013. We hope this edition of 365: A Year in Pictures marks the past as history and beckons a welcome step into 2014.